MSG Free Classic French Baguettes
Few things in the kitchen feel as rewarding as pulling a batch of golden, crackling baguettes from your own oven. This recipe builds deep, complex flavor through a poolish — a simple overnight starter made from just yeast, water, and bread flour — so you get that authentic bakery character without any additives or flavor enhancers. The entire ingredient list is refreshingly short: yeast, water, bread flour, and fine sea salt. That's it, which makes it naturally free of the hidden flavor boosters that sneak into so many store-bought loaves and packaged bread mixes. The stretch-and-fold technique develops a strong, elastic gluten structure, and the steam-baking method creates that signature shatteringly crisp crust with a chewy, open crumb underneath. Scoring the dough at a confident angle lets each baguette bloom beautifully in the oven, giving you those dramatic ridges that look like they came straight from a Parisian boulangerie. Let them cool on a wire rack before slicing — the wait is genuinely worth it.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the poolish
- ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup cool water (about 70°f / 21°c)
- ½ cup bread flour
For the dough
- 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (about 95°f / 35°c)
- 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Make the poolish: In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1/4 tsp yeast, 1/2 cup cool water, and 1/2 cup bread flour until no dry flour remains. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8–12 hours (overnight), until the poolish is bubbly, domed, and smells pleasantly yeasty.
- 2
Make the dough: Add 1 1/2 tsp yeast and 1 cup warm water to the poolish and stir to combine. Add 3 cups bread flour and 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, then mix with a stiff spatula or your hand until a shaggy dough forms with no dry patches. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
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